Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Romney Adviser Tries to Otherize Obama

Mitt Romney is on an overseas tour, beginning in London, and his advisers are talking to the British media. One of them joined the loony right’s constant attempts to otherize Obama, to pretend that he’s anti-American and even anti-white and anti-European.

In remarks that may prompt accusations of racial insensitivity, one suggested that Mr Romney was better placed to understand the depth of ties between the two countries than Mr Obama, whose father was from Africa.

“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser said of Mr Romney, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have”.

The campaign is now claiming that this doesn’t reflect Romney’s views:

Mitt Romney’s campaign disputed a report in The Telegraph in which an unnamed adviser suggested that the Republican nominee better understands the American relationship with Great Britain than does President Obama, whose father was born in Africa.

“It’s not true,’’ said campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg. “If anyone said that, they weren’t reflecting the views of Governor Romney or anyone inside the campaign.”

This is a classic dog whistle, a tribal signal that Romney is a Real American and Obama is not. It’s standard rhetoric for the far right and is right in the wheelhouse of at least some of Romney’s advisers, like John Bolton. And it may well be a case of good cop/bad cop — an intentional and anonymous leak, denied for political purposes. Signal sent, signal denied.

Particularly funny, given that many of the birthers claim Obama’s not eligible for the Presidency due to the fact that he could have claimed British(? – I’m a little fuzzy on the correct term for this case) citizenship due to his father’s nationality.

My impression is that it is more likely to represent some divisions within the Romney camp. Romney seems a centrist Moneycon; he wants power, he wants money, and he’ll pitch any BS at the electorate that gets him the majority of votes. The remark seems to come from a Xenocon, which faction are supporting Romney as the best chance to get the black guy out of the White House. Romney, how doesn’t seem particularly interested in race or nationality, one way or the other; someone who won’t screw over foreigners any worse than he does Americans. However, he’s perfectly willing to take the Xenocon support as long as they don’t mess up his election campaign.

So, Xenocon is working for the campaign, and expresses his own idiot ideas in dog-whistle language; the Moneycons stomp on this, because they recognize the thinly-veiled bigotry pisses off moderates that they can’t afford to lose — or rather, who will require throwing a lot more ad dollars about to keep from losing if they don’t.

I’m not sure if it’s still considered Good-Cop/Bad-Cop when it’s not intentionally co-ordinated.

Tries? Give me a break, painting him as “Other” has been the cornerstone of the Republican strategy against him since he won the election. This isn’t even close to being the first example from RMoney’s campaign, either.

This would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. Obama’s father was a British citizen who traveled on a British passport. As Vicklund @3 says, Obama could have claimed British citizenship. Just, by the way, as Donald Trump could have claimed British citizenship as his mother was British.

It is reveling how these patriots seem willing to disrespect the office of the president now that it is occupied by a black man. One more reason not to vote for Gordon”Mitt”Geko. He might just as well have stated that the Brits would not have to deal with a Wog if he is elected. Mitt has such class.

As Crommunist explains, suggesting that Britons are primarily “Anglo-Saxon” is ridiculously off-base, but it’s even more wrong than the linked post suggests. Even prior to the mid 20th century, Britons were a mix of not just Anglo-Saxons, but Celts (including several sub-tribes listed), Picts, Britons (duh), Jutes, Normans, Gauls, Romans and Vikings. And that list only gets you up to the dark ages… the North of England is probably more racially influenced by Vikings than Anglo-Saxons.

My grandparents came from Poland and the Ukraine so I guess Mitt doesn’t consider me a real American either.

Actually, I think most of us “ethnics” were granted honorary whiteness by the Republican Party when Nixon was trying to grab the Northern working class vote that he’d badly lost to Kennedy in 1960. That makes us almost Real Americans provided we don’t say anything disagreeable. More recently, even Jews have been made Honorary Real Americans–the human equivalent of Real Cheese Food. And these days you can be of Anglo-Saxon ancestry and DeRealized if you support a darkie Democrat, gays or any Democrat for that matter.

All four of my grandparents were born in Ireland. My special relationship with England is that they think I am worthy of only starvation and extermination and that my history and literature should be erased.

We have had speeches from Mitt and Michelle Obama on UK TV these last few days. Romney comes across as an idiot, totally out of touch. He’s the sort of guy who might pull 4% of the vote here if he were racist enough. Michelle Obama, on the other hand, comes across as eloquent, with a pleasant personality. Mitt looks worse every time Michelle opens her mouth.

If Romney and his campaign staff hadn’t already proven themselves inept, I could almost think this was deliberate: anonymous staffer says something racist, Romney’s “official” campaign disavows it, but it’s out there and it’s never going back in the box.